They did it with Steve Harrington last season and this season again and they did it big time with Sean Astin who as Bob I think is going to be a Barb level fan favorite.”
Sean Astin as Bob is going to be, I’m saying it, but he’s kind of going to be the Barb of Season 2.
Barb may be gone, but season 2 of Stranger Things has at least one new character that could become a similar fan-favorite.
However, just because Barb is gone, doesn’t mean fans won’t have plenty of new minor characters to which they can get attached.